Hymns: RHC 311 Does Jesus Care? 320 ‘Tis So Sweet to Trust In Jesus 386 Be Thou My Vision

Hebrews 11:11-12 (KJV)

11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.

Sarah’s Faith

OUTLINE

(1) Faith-Rooted In God’s Promise

(2) Faith-Rooted in God’s Faithfulness

(3) Faith-Rooted in God’s Power

Proverbs 3:5-8 (KJV)
5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

Nearer My God to Thee

Cradled in Sorrow and National Tragedy

The hymn “Nearer My God to Thee” was cradled in personal sorrow and had its maturing in an unusual history of both personal and national tragedy. The words express the heart’s deep yearning, especially in times of trial and trouble, to be drawn nearer to God.

This hymn has come to be invariably associated with the ill-fated luxury ocean liner, the Titanic, which in 1912 struck an iceberg some sixteen-hundred miles from New York City on its maiden voyage from England. As the few lifeboats pulled away carrying the six hundred passengers who were saved, all hope was lost for those left on deck.

In the final moments as the ship slowly sank beneath the icy waters of the Atlantic, sending fifteen hundred helpless souls into eternity, survivors heard the ship’s band playing the hymn’s strain with passengers on board singing the words of one who had written them for her own comfort.

Sarah Flower Adams, author of the hymn, was born in England in 1805. Her mother died when she was only five. Her dream was to be an actress, and she began a successful career on the London stage, starring as Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth. But ill health forced her to give up her acting career, and she turned her talents to writing. Her health grew more and more fragile and she died at forty-three years of age.

Hymns: RHC 323 Trust and Obey, 416 Wherever He Leads I’ll Go, 327 All Things Work Out for Good 549 When We All Get to Heaven

Hebrews 11:8-10 (KJV)

8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Abraham’s Faith

OUTLINE

(1) An Obedient Faith (v8)

(2)A Steadfast Faith (v9)

Life is in Jesus Christ

John 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

Jesus Christ is the Source of life. By Him, we have our existence. This is a greatest truth for any man to believe and embrace. Jesus is the Creator of all life.

John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

He is the Sustainer of all life. The life that Jesus Christ imparts is the light of men. It is a realization that we have when the truth is revealed in our hearts through the wisdom imparted by the Holy Spirit.

When we realize that Jesus Christ is the Giver of life, we receive Him as Lord and Saviour.

John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

We learn to love Him and be grateful to Him for the life and blessings He imparts to us.

There is a chorus “What a Wonderful Saviour!” that expresses well this blessed relationship:

What a wonderful Saviour

Jesus Christ my Lord

What a wonderful Saviour

From sin He sets me free

I will praise Him forever

Faithful to death I’ll be

What a wonderful Saviour

Jesus is to me.

Hymns: RHC 324 Trusting Jesus, 284 Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, 335 Keep On Believing

Hebrews 11:7 (KJV)

By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Noah’s Faith

OUTLINE

(1) A God-fearer’s Faith (v7a)

(2) A Faith Backed by Action (v7b)

(3) A Salvific Faith (v7c)

(4) A Faith Rewarded (v7d)

Proverbs 2:10-22 (KJV)
10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:
12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;
13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
14 Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;
15 Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:
16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;
17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
18 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.
19 None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.
20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.
22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

The Righteousness of God is manifested…by faith of Christ Jesus (Romans 3:21-22)

Romans 3:21-22 (KJV) 21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.

In the ancient Chinese language developed more than 4000 years ago, there are characters that cannot be fully explained except in the book of Genesis. How did our Chinese ancestors learn this knowledge of life with the living and true God? It is indeed worthy of our investigation. In the Lunar New Year celebrations, we often display the Chinese character pronounced “fu” (shown below) which means “blessedness” or “happiness”. The desire is that the New Year may bring happiness to the family.

Hymns: RHC 552 God of Our Fathers, 546 For All the Saints, 549 When We All Get to Heaven

Hebrews 11:5-6 (KJV)

By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Enoch’s Faith

OUTLINE

(1) Rewarded (v5a)

Taken to Heavenly Bodily
(2) Worthy of Reward (v5b-6)

He Pleased God –
Walked with God (Gen. 5:21-24)
Walk in the Spirit (cf. Rom. 8:1-8)
Walk in Holiness (cf. 1 Thess. 4:1-8)